Leland Thomas

Introduction: I was on a swim team for 8-10 years, ranging from summer leagues to year-round teams. My senior year in high school I was on a high school team, a year-round team, and I coached a little league which means I spent about 6 hours a day in the pool or coaching from the side. At the peak of my career I swam 26.62sec on my 50 meter freestyle sprint, a 1min 2.28sec on my 100 meter freestyle, 1minute flat on my 100 meter butterfly, and those were my normal events. Before I correctly learned butterfly, breaststroke was my favorite and I have plenty of tips to help your form and breath control! I love working with eager swimmers in and out of the pool. Swimming isn't just about the physical aspect, but also the mental. Most swimmers join a team, learn the strokes from just doing it, learn the wrong techniques, and end up having these massive times on their events that shouldn't be there. Believe it or not, a couple tips from an experienced athlete paired with quality practice can cut a swimmer's 33sec 50 meter freestyle down to 29sec. My favorite thing is watching an athlete that has put in the time and effort, finish that event they've been working on cutting down and seeing they finally cut those 3-4 seconds they needed to go to south state, or that .3 seconds they needed to go to state. It's all about progression and pushing the limits!